MY WEEKLY CLEANING ROUTINE

I’m going a COMPLETELY different direction in what I’m posting today, but the one time I posted about this, I got so many comments that this is LONG overdue.First, let me preface this by saying, I used to feel like I NEVER had time to clean my house during the week. I tried every 20-minute cleaning + decluttering program out there and NONE of them worked for me. And that’s just it… they weren’t right FOR ME. So, just because this works FOR ME, doesn’t mean that it’s going to be perfect for you. We all have different houses + different schedules, so I highly encourage you to take this just as a guide of something that has worked for me and customize it so that it works for YOU.Second, my house is NOT spotless. The only time I can think of it ever being completely clean + decluttered is the day we moved in. Since then (oh, you know, 4.5 years later), I’m still figuring out systems that work for me as far as keeping it decluttered. Having 3 people in the house who don’t care about that doesn’t help, so I do what I can to make it liveable for me. I’m far from perfect - there are always dust bunnies in the corners and yogurt smeared all over the chairs, but this little strategy has helped me keep the main thing the main thing and spend my time on the important things - specifically, MY FAMILY.(Side note: I also know my mom is reading this going, “YOU clean your house everyday?! Doesn’t look like it!” Like I said, I do my best. Sometimes it’s cleaner than others, sometimes I miss a day. Give yourself some grace.)I honestly wish I would’ve figured this little system out BEFORE I became a WAHM because for once, I feel like this is something that actually would’ve worked for me when I was working full time. I don’t want you to feel like because you work full time that this won’t work for you, but I also want to be honest that I started doing this once I started working from home. But, I still work 15-20 hours a week and have 2 kids, so I feel like this could have definitely worked working 40 hours a week too.OK, so let’s dive into this…How I manage to NOT clean (or do laundry) on the weekends…As an enneagram 9, I get overwhelmed EASILY. Like if it seems like it’s going to take me more than an hour or going to be super hard, I will avoid it like it’s my job. I used to only clean and do laundry on the weekends, and guess what never happened? Cleaning + laundry. I learned that if I break up the cleaning + the laundry into super small, manageable tasks, my brain doesn’t get quite as overwhelmed.So, the key to this system is… DO A LITTLE BIT EVERY SINGLE DAY.You’ve got 5 days during the week. What if you just spent 20-30 minutes cleaning those 5 days? Think of how long you spend cleaning your house on the weekends? Does it take you more than 2.5 hours? Probably not… (and if it does, your house is A LOT bigger than mine or you are way more detail oriented than I am.) So, don’t think you can’t spend 20-30 minutes a day cleaning when you’re already spending that amount of time on the weekend. You CAN do it… it’s all about making it a priority during your day.Next, take those 5 days and divide it into 5 different sections of your house or tasks. I have my schedule divided by section (living room, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.), but you can easily do this by task as well (dusting, vacuuming/mopping, wiping down surfaces, etc.). Like I said, DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. Same with the laundry… I divide it into 5 different “groups” to do each day (linens, whites, darks, kid #1, kid #2).So, you’ve got 5 tasks/sections, now figure out which days you are going to do each, and then write the sub-tasks that need to get done underneath them.Here is my specific schedule + subtasks…MONDAY: Living room + kitchen

  • Dust furniture + blinds

  • Vacuum couches

  • Wipe down surfaces

  • Straighten cabinets + drawers

  • Clean under couches

  • Vacuum/mop floors

TUESDAY: Deep clean (a different room every week)

  • Week 1: Kitchen (wipe down cabinets, microwave, over, clean out fridge + pantry)

  • Week 2: Living room (polish furniture, clean windows, clean baseboards, clean cushions + pillows, vacuum stairs/landing)

  • Week 3: Bedrooms (polish furniture, clean windows, clean baseboards, clean cushions + pillows)

  • Week 4: Bathrooms (clean out cabinets, clean baseboards + light fixtures)

  • Week 5: Basement, garage, or car

WEDNESDAY: Bedrooms

  • Dust furniture

  • Change sheets

  • Straighten closets, drawers, and shelves

  • Vacuum/mop floors

THURSDAY: Bathrooms

  • Scrub vanities + mirrors

  • Scrub tubs + showers

  • Clean toilets + toilet bowls

  • Vacuum + mop floors

FRIDAY: Living Room + Kitchen (same as Monday)This has worked really, really well for me - and as much as I would LOVE to hire someone to clean my house, it’s just not in the cards for us… yet. But, this has COMPLETELY freed up my weekends to be PRESENT with my family, instead of having to worry about spending 1-2 hours cleaning the house.And I’m not perfect. There are definitely days when I don’t get it done… but I give myself GRACE and remember that Tuesday will come around again, and I’ll get my cleaning done then. Seriously, we God did not make us perfect, so please don’t expect your house to be either!And for those of you who would rather do this task-based, look at those subtasks and divide them out! For me, rooms worked better (our house is not really big and we have an open floor plan so this just works), but I know some of you are going to work better with it being task-based.I’d love to know what your schedule looks like! Comment below and let me know your plan! I’d love to help keep you accountable - and have you help me stay accountable too!

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